Featured Column: Study Abroad in Denmark
January 14, 2011
As we start the New Year, we would like to invite all of our
students to write a featured column in our newsletter. If you are
interested in writing an article please email Lisa at
Visco@drexel.edu
and let us know what you would like to write about. The following article was written by Alyssa Stein, Architecture student.
My desire to travel and learn about Scandinavian architecture and
design led me to Denmark for ten weeks as part of Drexel’s Study Abroad
program. The knowledge I was seeking came in the form of a perky
professor, known for dancing on cruise ships and sneaking entire
classes into private buildings. With such an apparent love of
architecture and everything Danish, I was in the right hands. On our
study tours through Western Denmark, Sweden, and Norway I began to
realize the importance of vernacular architecture and how deeply
imbedded sustainability is in Scandinavian culture.
According to world polls, Denmark has been rated the happiest place
in the world. I found myself questioning the validity of this statement
on top of a horse in the Danish countryside. Leading this trot down
the fjord was my well-traveled and talkative host family. After showing
me around half-timbered houses and thousand year old Viking burial
tombs, I realized the incredible pride the Danish take in their
history. In a very small country, the Danish find happiness in their
lifestyle choices and comfort and security in their close knit
communities. By this point, I was convinced that utopia was a place on
earth. For a college student struggling with finances and stressed
about making it in the world, it was valuable to reflect on the
societal impact of low unemployment, free education, and public health
care.
The last leg of my journey brought me full circle. My program ended
and I continued to travel with friends in the Netherlands and with my
mother in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria. After meeting
relatives in Vienna and walking down the streets where my grandparents
spent their childhoods, I was able to understand my identity in terms of
my family history and the recent events and people who have influenced
me. This trip was much more than a stamp on my passport; it was a
journey to understand my place in the world. Click here for more information on the wide range of Study Abroad programs available to Westphal students.